How to Add USB or Bluetooth to a Subaru Liberty

The Subaru Liberty (or Legacy overseas) was first produced in 1989, and is currently in its sixth generation. Subaru Liberty’s are a hugely popular car in Australia, and many older models are still on the road today.

Bluetooth capabilities weren’t added as standard in the Subaru Legacy/Liberty until the Fifth Generation went into production in 2009. That’s left many Fourth Generation owners wanting for more modern connectivity, and turning to solutions such as the GROM kits for the answer.

Subaru Liberty (4th Gen / 2003 – 2009)

All Subaru Liberty’s here in Australia don’t have XM radios, but fortunately GROM offer a non-satellite version of their Subaru firmware for CD Changer (CDC) emulation. While this does allow Australian Subaru’s to benefit from these integration kits, it does come at a cost of text support which is only available with SAT firmware.

Compatibility in Australia is pretty well supported, with GROM confirming they support most Kenwood head units such as: GX-806EF2, GX-201JE, GX-201LE, GX-201KH, GX-201LH, GX-203JE, GX-203KH, GX-204LE, P-206 UNB.

Kenwood GX201KNNot compatible

We’ve discovered additional compatibility with Macintosh head units, PF-28241 (Made in China), PF-28241 (Made in Japan), PF-25511. However, the PF-28241 (Made in Japan) and PF-25511 will ONLY work with the GROM AUX1 or BT3 units. In addition, these models do NO support stereo or steering wheel control, meaning you must manually control music from the source.

If you happen to have an incompatible head unit, but still want Bluetooth connectivity, then look at the Compact BT as an option. It’s not integrated with your stereo controls, but it’s a high quality way to add BT connectivity that’s streamed to your stereo via FM transmission.

Adding USB to a Subaru Liberty:

There is only one option for a fully integrated USB connected for your Subaru Liberty.